General Tips & Tricks

WHY WON'T MY CAR GO LOW ENOUGH?

This depends on the kit and the chassis it has being installed on. Usually the kits will lower the car a substantial amount, however this can vary given that some vehicles body/chassis may restrict the drop. Such as low wheel arches, large wheels/tyres, lack of available shortened dampers, how the chassis sits when lowered etc.

There are customers that go one to further modify their chassis or arches to help achieve further drop on the chassis. However, we would always recommend looking in to getting this professionally fabricated to avoid any failing parts or disappointment afterwards! This isn't something we tend to do in-house, unless it's something we are personally experienced with. We would suggest anyone wanting an extreme look get in touch with us to discuss air suspension options and then consult with a fabricator or body shop for any further work.

This also could be due to a badly installed kit/a kit that isn't meant specifically for that platform has been installed/poor quality parts installed/poorly mounted universal parts/many other reasons for lack of lows! Without having a professional assess the set-up, it's super hard for anyone to tell you what's causing a restricted drop. However, usually a good look under the car can tell you what/where the restrictions are.

We cannot guarantee with all models and all kits that you will achieve the "laying frame" look from your Air Suspension, however we can guarantee an all round lowered look, that we're confident you'll still be happy with!

I HAVE A LEAK ON MY SYSTEM - HELP!

Don’t worry! Leaks are very normal, especially with a new installation! That doesn’t mean that you should ignore a leak though, since they are very easy to track down.

Grab any squirt bottle and fill it with a bit of soap liquid and water. Begin spraying down any connection in your system that you think it may be coming from (ie. specific corner).

Even the slowest leak will cause bubbles to form in the spray.

If the leak is audible and coming from a PTC fitting, be sure the air line is pressed firmly into the fitting and cut as straight as possible on the end of the line. A wonky end will make it difficult for the PTC fitting to grab the airline properly and form a seal.

We have found that DOT approved fittings like those made by SMC and the Nickel fitting range are very reliable for PTC connections, due to the inner “sleeve” that hugs the inside of the air line. See our Guide To Air Fittings page for more information on these.

I HAVE A KNOCKING NOISE - WHAT DO I DO?

Don't panic! This is quite normal and can be a number of things.

If you have AirLift Slam Air Suspension, it's likely going to be the bushings/washers that are sat under the Top Hat of the struts. These are common for perishing or holding debris kicked up from the wheels. If you've not changed them recently, this is worth changing over. The kit you'll need is a "AirLift Slam Upper Repair Kit"and comes with all the replacement serviceable parts you need to renew these parts. The kits are cheap and come with a manual on how to install them.

Alternatively, if you have AirLift Performance Air Suspension or BAGSxBCRacing Air Suspension, it's likely to be the Spherical Bearing in the Camber Top Mounts. Again, similar to the above, this can hold debris or completely dry out causing damage to the bearing and for it not to move freely anymore. This will make a audible knocking noise to the front end when driving. These bearings are available to purchase as a replacement part and known as a "Spherical Pillowball Bearing". These are universal between the AirLift and BC Top Mounts only. These will come with a manual on how to change these over and sold individually.

Your knocking noise isn't guaranteed to be down to the above, however these are common reasons for the development of a noise. This is also commonly described as a creaking noise, banging, we've even had a few Chewbacca's mentioned before!

We recommend doing a number of things to avoid this and help with the longevity of the parts known to perish. See below:

Keep all top mounts and components involved clean and regularly lubricate the area with a general multipurpose grease or lubricating spray.

Use your jet wash to give the top mounts a blast over. This will help keep the parts debris free and stop particles from entering the bearings/bushings.

If your car is a daily driven car, we recommend doing the above two points every time you wash your car or on a monthly basis - especially in hot, dry seasons and in winter months where road salts are used.

WILL MY AIR SUSPENSION BE OK IN WINTER?

Absolutely! We have a wide spread community of our customer base, some being in countries that get nigh-on Baltic in winter months! That doesn’t stop any of them from driving their air ride equipped vehicles year round.

We do recommend a few steps of preventative maintenance during the winter months to ensure the cold doesn’t adversely affect any air ride components. First off, we always add about two caps of air brake antifreeze to our air tanks as soon as the temperature starts to drop to around freezing at night. This helps prevent condensation from freezing inside air lines, valves, fittings and otherwise clogging up the system. Furthermore, we tend to empty our tanks and water traps more frequently during the colder months - typically once a month.

The generation of water in the system is totally normal and a natural process when air is put under pressure. This water is totally harmless in the system, if kept to a moderate level and emptied via a tank drain kit or a water trap in the system. We've seen some customers not know of this and come to us with about two litres of collected water sloshing around in the tank! So do invest in a tank drain or water trap and thank us later!

I HAVE A LEAK ON A FITTING, WHAT DO I DO?

Check where the leak is coming from by using the advice in the second question above on this page.

Once you have identified the fitting that is leaking, remove the airline and make sure that the end of the airline is cut as straight as possible. This is imperative when using PTC fittings. The inside of the PTC fitting has small teeth that hug the end of the airline, securing the line inside and holding it in place to create a airtight seal. If the airline isn't cut straight, the teeth and seal will struggle to hold it once pressure is passed through it. So try a fresh cut on the end of the line before reinserting it - but ensure you use a super sharp line cutter to guarantee the best cut.

Also, take a look at the fitting, does it look a little dirty, old and battered? Maybe time for a new replacement fitting. Over the years, particularly external mounted fittings, can suffer the usual wear and tear. Sometimes, it's just worth buying a new fitting than trying to re-cut the line or reapplying a million layers of PTFE for it not to work.

I HAVE A LEAK FROM MY COMPRESSOR/TANK, WHAT DO I DO?

Sometimes, folks can report a slow or overnight loss of some air from the tank PSI showing on their controllers or gauges. This again, can be quite common if your kit is of an age. Check out our OCD YouTube Tutorial on how to check for leaks!

However, if you're more of a reader, here's a few potential areas to check on to see how to fix this:

Firstly, check your tank fittings with the soap spray recommended in the previous answers above. Check that all the fittings and plugs are holding a seal. If the water spray bubbles, this indicated a leak. Even the slowest of leaks will still bubble the spray up.

Secondly, check your compressor leader line. There is a check valve on this line that holds air in to the tank and stops air from travelling the wrong way back in to the compressor, allowing a leak from the tank. It's common for these to age and weaken over time, as they're only small. The check valve will look like this on all Viair Compressors:

This check valve will simply twist off the male thread on the end of the braided line. It's worth taking the check valve off and blowing back down the valve the wrong way yourself, to see if it does allow air to travel against the valve.

You can also check this same thing by leaving the check valve connected up and instead, remove the air-filter on the back of the compressor and hold your thumb over the filer hole. When you let go, you'll hear or feel the air travelling out of the hole you were covering. If so, this indicates that the check valve is no longer holding air away from the compressor and in the tank. Check out our range of check valves to replace your existing one! We recommend the SMC Check Valve as this is SUPER reliable and of great quality. It's like your old one, but beefy! This is also a completely serviceable check valve, see our YouTube tutorial on how to service these yourself here.

I HAVE A LEAK ON MY MANIFOLD, WHAT DO I DO?

If you have a AirLift V2, 3P, 3H or a Accuair VU4 manifold that's out of warranty, you may suffer a fault on the PTC ports on the manifold. These fittings in the manifold are luckily available as a spare part and totally replaceable! Hooray! The following advice will save you hundreds of pounds on purchasing a new manifold, just for a tiny fitting leak! *Applause!*

We have a easy OCD YouTube Tutorial on how to remove and replace these fittings, with a link in the description to the fitting you'll need to do it listed on our website.

If you've already seen the tutorial and are just looking for the replacement fitting to purchase, see here for a direct link.